10/17/17 – Prison Phones

About 600,000 people will be released from federal and state prisons this year. Within three-years, two-thirds will be rearrested.

Here’s what’s happening behind the headlines.

Studies have shown that strong ties between prisoners and families increase the likelihood inmates will toe the straight and narrow after release. Isolating them only makes it more likely they’ll again break the law.

A collect call home is the most important line of communication. Especially when someone is incarcerated down-state and the family lives upstate. Or out-of-state. Unable to regularly visit.

In many states, the prison phone systems are the wild west. You wouldn’t recognize most service providers. Contracts are awarded to obscure companies. Because the business model is different than with an AT&T or Verizon.